Iraq said it had exported an average of 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in April so far, exceeding its figures in March, and would have sent out even more if insurgents had not sabotaged its northern pipeline.

Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Hussain al-Shahristani said the figure could have reached 3.2 million bpd without the damage and if the autonomous Kurdistan region had met its 400,000 bpd target.

In March, Iraq reported a 2.39 million bpd average.

"Regrettably, the security forces failed to secure the northern export pipeline, or we would have been capable of exporting between 2.8 and 3 million bpd, even without a contribution from the Kurdish region," Shahristani said.

Kurdistan has not exported any oil via Iraqi infrastructure for more than a year due to an ongoing row with the federal government over resource rights and revenue sharing.

Nevertheless, exports averaged 2.4 million bpd in the first quarter of 2014, Shahristani added.

No oil has flowed through the northern export pipeline to Turkey since early March when it was bombed, and repair-work is on hold because insurgents have killed technicians sent to fix it.

"The northern export pipeline still shut down due to the terrorist operations and the spread of ISIL groups along the pipeline passage areas," Shahristani said. – Reuters